Autoblog

Click above for more high-res images of muscle cars on Woodward

It's with fond memories that we look back on the age of the muscle car, their big-inch V8 engines belching power and burning tires long before it was politically incorrect to do so. Starting with humble mid-size coupe origins, the Pontiac GTO ignited a trend that is just now starting to come back in style after decades of gathering dust in the corner. Still, those classic stoplight predators from the '60s and early '70s get their day in the sun today on Woodward Avenue. Take a look at all the classic American muscle we found in the gallery below.

Click the image above for more pics of the Challenger SRT8

If you're one of the lucky 6,400 customers to lay claim to the 425 hp Dodge Challenger SRT8, we have good news. The first 1,000 special edition Challengers have already been built, and they're en-route to a dealer near you. For those of you that won't be getting your Hemi-powered muscle car in the first wave, you won't have to wait long, either. Every SRT Challenger will be produced by the beginning of July, which means Woodward should be full of good-looking retro coupes come August. If you want a 6.1L Challenger, you're going to have to hit eBay or wait for 2009, because all 2008 models have been spoken for.

The Challenger has been one of the few pieces of good news surrounding the Pentastar of late, and a hot product couldn't be coming at a better time. We know gas if $4 per gallon and V8 muscle cars aren't exactly what the doctor ordered, but we're probably just as excited as the 6,400 Challenger SRT8 owners to get behind the wheel of this future classic.


[Source: Dodge]

The hits just keep on coming for fans of the Chevy Camaro. Just yesterday, we quoted Bob Lutz as suggesting that the Camaro could get a four-cylinder engine option. Now we hear that Mark LaNeve, VP of sales and marketing for GM North America, says that, "We won't position it as a muscle car," speaking again of the 2010 Camaro. Sure, you could spend hours debating the terms "muscle car" and "pony car", but we're pretty sure that very few ever thought of the Camaro as a fuel-efficient option. But, that's exactly how GM will position it. "The mainstream positioning will be fuel economy, design and a V-6," says LaNeve.

The truth seems to be that GM just cannot afford to sell a couple hundred thousand Camaros a year with V8 engines rated at around 20 miles per gallon combined. But, before V8-lovers get too upset, remember that it is the fuel efficient engine options which make the fire-breathing V8 an option at all. Without mainstream options like either a direct-injected V6 or even a small turbocharged 4, there is simply no way that Chevrolet could ever reintroduce the Camaro at all.


[Source: Business Week]

Dodge is launching the SRT-8 model of the Challenger first. There's a head-spinning amount of variations on the Mustang GT theme. GM's not going to be left in the dust by the real-life rehashing of the late 1960s. An eagle-eyed member of the Camaro5 forums spotted an unusually dressed Zeta Camaro prototype near the Mesa, AZ proving grounds and managed to snap a cellphone shot of the car. The white mule wearing distinctive matte-black striping reportedly emitted a demonic whistle at idle, perhaps indicating the presence of the LS9 or LSA. A sinister-sounding bestriped Camaro – could it be the SS? We hope. Thanks to everyone who tipped!

[Source: Camaro5]

Click image to enlarge

The first Challenger fetched $400,000 at Barrett-Jackson, and now #43 has managed to sell on eBay for a whopping $228,143.43. Of course #43 is no run-of-the-mill Challenger, as it's the only one (or, the only '08 model, at least) finished in B5 Blue paint, in a nod to "The King," Richard Petty, whose Mopar racers all wore a similar color. Unique paint isn't the only differentiator either, as it also comes with a commemorative plaque, a decal package (the winner can choose whether or not it's applied ot the car), and a meet-and-greet with Kyle Petty in addition to a VIP Package to the Dodge Challenger 500 NASCAR race at Darlington. All proceeds from the auction go to the Victory Junction Gang Camp, which works to better the lives of kids afflicted with serious diseases. Thanks for the tip, Johnny!



[Source: eBay]

We've heard this tune before. Automakers have pushed vehicles to the zenith of attainable on-road performance, with even family vehicles being outfitted with fire-breathing engines. Anything you buy today will run rings around the performance cars of yore. Boomers may get misty-eyed about how great the glory days of the 1960s were for hot cars, but that's just the filthy exhaust clouding their judgement. The golden age of performance is now. Just as it went down nigh on 38 years ago, big V8 thumpers are having their death knell sounded. Scott Burgess posits in the Detroit News that the muscle car formula could undergo some revision.

Burgess spoke with GM's Troy Clarke, who thinks that muscle cars will evolve into vehicles that sell more on the strength of their style and innovation, rather than live axles and cubic inches. We agree that there will be widespread evolution and experimentation when it comes to powertrains, but we thought muscle cars already sold largely on their stylishness. We went digging at Ford to take a look at Mustang sales to see if our suspicions could be confirmed.

A two-tone 2009 Dodge Challenger was spotted in Detroit earlier this month, but it was all the way back in August when we brought you shots of this all-black Challenger. That car hasn't been spotted cruising around the streets of Detroit in a while, the reason being is that it's no longer in the vicinity of Detroit. Recently the car was spotted far from home at Harrah's Rincon Casino and Resort in Valley Center, located in sunny San Diego, California. The casino is conveniently situated near Mt. Palomar, which is home to San Diego's finest mountain pass. We can only assume that the folks from Chrysler were flogging the camo-clad Challenger around the mountain road. Testing was certainly in progress during this sighting, as it was closely followed by Dodge chase vehicles complete with roof antennas. Could this mean that the Challenger will be aimed at handling the twisties as well as the straights? Let us hope it won't be plagued with extreme understeer like its predecessors.

[Photos: Tam To]

click above image for more high-res pics of the Dodge Challenger

The production Dodge Challenger won't arrive until next year, but Dodge is already planning on how it's going to get the most out of those first three examples, which are all scheduled to be top of the line SRT-8 models with HEMI Orange paint, hood stripes and the 6.1L V8 engine. Car No. 1 that leaves the Brampton, Ontario assembly plant will go to the winning bidder of an auction to be held at the famous Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Scottsdale, AZ, which runs from January 12-20 of next year. We'll be there to watch the gavel fall, and when it does, all proceeds from the sale are going straight to notMYkid, an organization that promotes understanding of youth behavioral issues. The right to own Car No. 2 will be decided by an auction that starts earlier on Sept. 26th, 2007, though this one will be a private auction just for Dodge dealers. All proceeds from the sale of the second car will go to the United Way of Southeastern Michigan. Car No. 3, meanwhile, will be auctioned off on eBay, though Dodge reports it will have more details on that auction later.

[Source: Chrysler LLC]

They're no remote-controlled VW, but these muscle car USB drives are pretty slick. Not as sleek or fast as the Ducatti/Sandisk drives we showed you a couple of weeks ago, but these definitely will appeal to a certain portion of our audience. Made by dummberry and available at the Etsy online store, they take the form of three classic American rides. Looks like a choice of a '59 Bonneville (Muscle HOTTRod), '62 T-Bird (LowRider CLASSIC) or '70 Dodge Challenger (Blazin Green Machine). They are hand-made and come in either 256MB or 1GB sizes for $17 or $30 respectively.

[Source: Etsy via CarScoop]

While these new spy shots of the production Dodge Challenger show neither more nor less of the car than similar shots taken last week, we still find ourselves interested. This time we see the new Challenger sitting at a stoplight, which afford a view of the big 5-spoke wheels that slightly obscure the car's massive disc brakes. This particular car is silver, compared to the black and reddish-bronze colored ones in previous spy shots.

The photographer reportedly pulled an illegal U-turn and chased down the car. After pulling up next to it and snapping a few pics on his camera phone, the guerilla snapper revved his engine. He reports that the engineers inside the Challenger changed their smug mugs into smiles and indicated they were ready for a stoplight launch party, but when the light turned green they quickly let off. Our guess is their bosses probably frown on street racing with the million dollar prototypes.

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[Source: Cheers and Gears]